Intel RST/RSTe Drivers (latest: v20.2.1.1016/ v9.0.0.2062)

@westlake
Thanks for the new Intel RST drivers v17.11.3.1007 and the related complete Drivers & Software Set.
The start post has been updated by me.

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Installer:
Intel Virtual RAID on CPU 8.0.0.4035

Drivers only:
iaNullVMD [email protected]_11.10 (>iaNullVMD [email protected])
iaStorB [email protected]_11.15 (>iaStorB [email protected]_07.31)
iaStorE [email protected]_11.15 (>iaStorE [email protected]_07.31)
iaStorT [email protected]_11.15 (>iaStorT [email protected]_same)
iaVROC [email protected]_11.15 (>iaVROC [email protected]_07.31)

Download

Source

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In Intel’s release notes I read that RSTe compatibility with C600 and C220 is up to version 4.5. Do the versions you provide have any special features or are they officials?

@Cixert

This is not correct. All Intel RSTe drivers of the v4 platform (latest available one is v4.7.0.1098) do support Intel C600 and C220 chipset AHCI and RAID Controllers. The later released Intel RSTe drivers do only support C600+ and C220 chipsets.

All Intel RST/RSTe drivers I am offering here (except the mod+signed ones) have been officially released by Intel, but only a very few of them are/were published on Intel’s Download Center.
Note: The driver support is the obligation of the mainboard manufacturer and not of the chipset manufacturer. All Intel RST or RSTe drivers, which are/were offered within Intel’s Download Center, are/were designed just for Intel mainboards.

Today I have updated the start post.
new: 64bit Intel RST AHCI+RAID+NVMe drivers v18.37.6.1010 WHQL for Win10-11 x64 dated 09/19/2022
new: 64bit Intel RST VMD driver v18.7.6.1010 WHQL for Win10-11 x64 dated 09/19/2022
new: Intel RST Drivers & Software Set v18.7.6.1010.2 for Win10-11 x64 dated 11/02/2022

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Do Z690 and Z790 chipsets support Intel RST without VMD RAID enabled? If I disable VMD RAID in BIOS, Intel RST 19.X drivers are not used at all and motherboard uses Windows stock AHCI SATA drivers. Intel VMD RST is only for NVMe, but with RAID disabled, NVMe also use standard Windows drivers. Is this normal? Is there any benefit to using Intel RST on Z790 with VMD RAID disabled? Perhaps RAID component allows for some non-RAID improvements?

@OpenSource_Ghost
Only experienced Forum members with a modern Intel Z690 or Z790 chipset system will be able to answer your questions.
My knowledge about this topic is very limited, but I suspect no advantage for your system by enabling VMD RAID as long as you don’t want to create an Intel RST RAID Array consisting of 2 or more SSDs.
My advice: Do some tests with disabled and enabled VMD RAID and report here about your results. Don’t forget to post the HardwareIDs of the in-use AHCI and/or RAID Controllers.

[email protected]_12.23.rar (1.3 MB)

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Hey @Fernando ,

I probably have a very dumb question but here it goes.

I have a Kingston NV2 500GB SSD.

Gigabyte is offering the Intel Rapid Storage driver 19.5.0.1037 for my Gigabyte Z690 UD DDR4 mobo. However when trying to install it says I don’t have compatible hardware.

Is this normal?

@ JohnnyGui
To be able to help you I need some additional information:

  1. Which are the HardwareIDs of your in-use on-board Intel AHCI/RAID/VMD/NVMe Controller?
    (run the Device Manager, expand the “IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers” and - if applicable - the “Storage Controllers” sections, right-click onto the Devices with the word “Controller” in their name and choose the options “Properties” > “Details” > “Property” > “HardwareIDs”)
  2. Which is the currently in-use driver for the related Storage Controller?
  3. For which purpose is Gigabyte offering the Intel RST driver v19.5.0.1037 (it is not the latest and supports only VMD Controllers).

Intel RST AHCI-RAID-NVMe drivers v17.11.3.1010 WHQL [25/11/2022]

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Sorry for the late reply.

Question 1. and 2.
My “Standard AHCI 1.0 SATA controller” (driver version 10.0.22621.608) has the following ID’s:
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7AE2&SUBSYS_B0051458&REV_11
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7AE2&SUBSYS_B0051458
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7AE2&CC_010601
PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_7AE2&CC_0106

My “Standard NVM Express Controller” (driver version 10.0.22621.755) has the following ID’s
PCI\VEN_2646&DEV_5019&SUBSYS_50192646&REV_00
PCI\VEN_2646&DEV_5019&SUBSYS_50192646
PCI\VEN_2646&DEV_5019&CC_010802
PCI\VEN_2646&DEV_5019&CC_0108

Forgive my lack of knowledge, but I only have an NVMe SSD and no other storage devices, so I don’t understand how there’s an AHCI SATA device listed in Device Manager.

3. I don’t know why they’re offering that driver specifically.

@Dagal
Thanks for having found and uploaded the new Intel RST drivers v17.11.3.1010 WHQL.
I have already updated the start post of this thread.

@JohnnyGui
As long as the Intel SATA Controller has not been disabled within the BIOS, it will be shown within the Device Manager.
By the way - the Intel RST VMD drivers are unusable for your current system.

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Thanks for the info.

So would I still need (another version than Gigabyte’s) Rapid Storage driver because there’s an AHCI SATA Controller shown in Device Manager? Even though I ony have an NVMe SSD without RAID?

You can disable it in BIOS or ignore it as you don’t have devices (physical drives) connected to this controller.

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Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) v18.37.6.1011 WHQL [18/10/2022]

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[email protected]_12.23.rar (1.3 MB)

rstmwservice.exe (2022.11.21 → 2023.01.02)

The core content is the same, only the digital signature has changed.

@westlake
Thanks for the info and the link to Intel’s “updated” pure RST VMD driverpack v19.5.2.1049 WHQL, but I have serious doubts, that the related files have been correctly updated by Intel and digitally signed by Microsoft:

  1. All files of both packages (incl. the rstmwservice.exe), which were linked by you previously and now, are shown within the File Explorer with the exact identical compilation date and time 11/21/2022 00:00, but the rstmwservice.exe files have a different size (2.011 KB vs. 2.001 KB) and were digitally signed by Intel at different dates (11/21/2022 vs. 01/02/2023).
  2. The “Intel RST Drivers & Software Set v19.5.2.1049.4 dated 01/02/2023”, which has been offered by Station-Drivers and here by me a few days ago, contains all files of your “updated” VMD driverpack, but they were obviously compiled later (the rstmwservice.exe on 01/02/2023, all other files on 12/23/2022).

Since it seems to me, that only the VMD driver files, which are part of the complete Drivers & Software Set, have been properly updated by Intel and correctly digitally signed by Microsoft, I have replaced my previously linked VMD driverpack by the really updated one.
If you should not agree with me, please let me know it.
Thanks again!

Quick reply as to why 1) could be happening.

I’ve seen build dates stay the same even if compilation happened at different times in C and C++ codebases in order to get deterministic builds, although mostly in open source scenarios where they want to have some validation that X source release led to Y binary so anyone could check.

The size difference is because of the Microsoft countersignature, I just took a look at the binaries and save for the signatures they’re the same (i.e., signtool.exe remove /s file produces binary identical files). I’ve seen at least one vendor (Realtek? I can’t remember) sign the same binary at different dates (and not because it was once SHA-1 and another time SHA-256), but they were not countersigned by Microsoft, it was only them and I never figured out what that was about.

Anyway, both those releases are from Nov. 2022, forging a digital signature based on SHA-256 would be news for me, there is no (known) easy way to get collisions there that I know of.

#2 Makes more sense to me, that they’re not using deterministic builds and it just was a mishap (them signing an older service executable at that time), I’d take a Microsoft countersigned binary over a vendor one any day.

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@Fernando

Sorry to cause a problem, but the date of the files I upload in the file manager is not informative, as I always modify them. I have quite a large driver collection and it’s better for me. For me, this date is always the date in the inf file (yy.mm.dd 00:00). Otherwise, this date is not so important, since I can find out the timestamp to the second for almost every file. True, the timestamp is often earlier than the build date, but the difference is minimal (a few days at most). The old rstmwservice.exe has two digital signatures (Intel 2022.11.21, Microsoft 2022.12.23), the new one has only one (Intel 2023.01.02). The other files are indeed identical, I didn’t want to upload just the exe.

@JRMoore

Thanks for the tip, removing the digital signatures does indeed match the two files mentioned.

I will be more careful next time.